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The skewering Randy Carlyle is now getting in Toronto these days hurts former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson.

And believe it or not, Wilson still bleeds a little blue.

Breaking his silence two years after being replaced by Carlyle, an axe wielded by former Toronto general manager Brian Burke, Wilson told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun he knows exactly what the Leafs coach and his players are enduring in this eight-game losing streak.

“I really feel for the coaching staff and, above all, for Randy right now,” Wilson said. “He’s got the same thousand-yard stare (on the bench) that I had. But at the end, you almost feel like it’s completely out of your control, everything takes on a life of its own. It’s unbelievable.”

The often caustic Wilson was headed for his fourth season of missing the playoffs when fans began derisively chanting his name at the ACC. He was let go during an early March 2012 road trip. Carlyle turned the Leafs around in the shortened 48-game season in 2013 and after a berth this spring seemed a certainty, the Leafs began their shocking slide.

“In Toronto, everything is always out of perspective,” Wilson said. “They’re either winning games and they’re planning the parade route, or you lose a couple of games and everything gets over-exaggerated.

“It’s pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you. That goes for the coaches, but the players, as well. You can’t go anywhere without hearing about what’s going wrong or all this kind of stuff.”

Wilson and Burke, college buddies from Providence University, were said to have a strained relationship after the firing. Burke was himself let go 10 months later by some disgruntled board members at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

“I can’t blame Burkie for what he did,” Wilson said. “He was trying to salvage the season. We had had a good season, until we got on that (six-game) losing streak, that so-called ‘18-wheeler (going off a cliff)’ that Burkie talked about.

“It happens, it takes on a life of its own, and you feel like you have no control, you can’t find a way to get out of it.

“I watched the last two games this weekend (Leafs losses to Philadelphia and Detroit). I thought they played OK in those games, but right now they’ve got no puck luck. It’s like maybe they used up all their puck luck earlier in the season when they were getting out-shot, but still won games.”

Reports have circulated that Wilson is ready to get back in the coaching ranks in 2014-15. He stands seventh highest in NHL coaching wins with 648.

“I would, if the situation is right,” said Wilson. “But I’m not in a position where I say I’m desperate for job.”